Monday, January 25, 2016

**** Update 1 (2/1) ****
Many thanks to Bill Fischer for braving a pre-ride of this route on Sunday, a mere week after a monster snowstorm dumped over 2 feet of snow on the area. Surprisingly, most of the roads are mostly clear. A couple of the idyllic back roads, mainly of the gravel variety, remain nearly impassible. The parking area I had planned to use is buried under several feet of snow and wont be accessible for months. Obviously some snow detours are necessary.

FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT: The start location is moved to the Landis Valley Farm Museum parking lot, approximately 0.3 miles west of the original start location. Check HERE for a map. I will be staging in the west end of the parking lot. Look for a blue Honda Odyssey van. The finish remains at the original start location so you will need to check in at the finish and then return to your car at the modified start location.

A revised cue sheet has been posted with the updated route. Please be sure to print the version dated 2/1/2016 unless you want to find yourself facing a few quarter mile stretches of snow muck. The electronic map has also been updated and is available HERE.

The weather is forecast to warm this week which should further reduce the snow pack and hopefully allow more of our roads to widen to their full paved width. As is typical, most roads have a coating of gravel chips which can be almost as slippery as ice. Please exercise caution and allow your guardian angle to keep up. Another side effect of all this gravel is an increased incidence of flats. Check your tube supply before the start.

Andrew Mead
-Organizer

**** Original Post ****
This is a brand new route that offers a different twist for Lancaster County by looping generally north and south from a central start-finish location. A full ride description is available on the PA Rando website and a map is available here. The route returns to return to the start location after 60 miles providing a safety bail-out should weather conditions or rider conditioning take a turn for the worse. Hopefully this will not be too great a temptation for riders to DNF.

Breakfast is available nearby at the Oregon Dairy Restaurant, approximately 1 mile north of the start location along SR 272. The food is good and plentiful and there's even a breakfast buffet. The baked oatmeal is one of my favorites. The restaurant opens at 6am which leaves ample time for breakfast and to make you way to the start. You might even run into a celebrity.

Parking is not abundant at the start finish area, but there should be enough to manage. We will be staging for the start at the north side entrance along Landis Valley Rd under the sign with the clock/thermometer. You should park in that general area away from the store fronts. Carpooling will help. There is ample additional parking at the Landis Valley Farm Museum on the opposite side of Oregon Pike which may also be used.

If you're planning to ride, please complete an entry at the PA Randonneurs Event Registration page by 5PM Thursday February 4. As with any winter brevet, weather may necessitate changes. Many roads on this route remain susceptible to snow drift closures long after the snow has stopped falling. Keep an eye on this site for updates.

A word of caution to GPS users: This route features multiple loops
which cross and several stretches of road that are run
bi-directionally. You GPS may be confused if it is navigating by
waypoints or provide ambiguous directions if you're following a track.
The map also does not show a temporary detour around a bridge closure at
the beginning of the second loop. As always, the published cue sheet
is the navigational standard.

After January's free ride for members we return to the customary nominal entry fee for the R12 series brevets, including a reduced entry fee for PA Randonneur members. RUSA increased its annual membership fee last October in an effort to maintain the financial health of the club. That increase was accompanied by other behind the scenes changes toward that same goal. One important change is ride insurance. Part of the membership increase funds event insurance coverage for RUSA members participating in brevets, populaires, fleche's and permanents. Non-RUSA members obviously have not contributed to this pool and thus require additional funds toward insurance from the event sponsoring club. The PA Randonneurs annual membership fee remains unchanged for 2016. However, in order to enjoy the discounted entry fees for PA Randonneurs events, you will need to be a member in good standing with RUSA as well as with PA Randonneurs. This change appears to have little or no impact on our club membership, but I thought you should be aware as we start the season. Please direct any questions to Tom or me.

I look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks. I'll be doing my best to arrange for some nice weather and clear roads.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Preliminary results have been posted at:http://parando.org/PA200k_Results160102.pdf
...Please let me know of any corrections or other issues. Results will
be submitted shortly, and become final, pending RUSA certification.

Special thanks to organizers Andrew Mead, Bill Olsen, and Guy Harris, who stepped up to run this event while I was in the hospital.